The Carter Centre, who are here as part of the contingent of international observers for the upcoming General and Regional Elections, met with Director General of the Ministry of the Presidency, Joseph Harmon on Wednesday, February 5, 2020.
Mr. Carlos Valenzuela, Field Office Director, International Election Observation Mission, informed Director General Harmon that the team, which is being led by himself, is making its rounds. They have met with the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), the Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC) and the Government. Soon the team will be meeting with the political parties to understand what are the parties’ views on the elections preparations, electoral process, challenges and issues, if any, that they may have with the Commission 0r the process.
Mr. Harmon, who welcomed the team’s presence in Guyana, noted that “the Government has done all that is humanly possible over the past year to have the Elections Commission adequately equipped and provided with all the necessary resources, without any interference from Government.”
According to Harmon, as far as the Government is concerned, elections is part of a democratic process and development of the country is based on the country’s ability to have free, fair and credible elections.
“We are most confident that the Commission can deliver free, fair and credible elections,” he noted.
Meanwhile, Mr. Valenzuela reassured that the team is not here to find faults in the Commission or to criticise anyone but rather, the aim is to ensure confidence building in the citizenry and to ensure they are confident in the results that would emerge at the end of the process.
The International Election Observation Mission included Ms. Anne Marlborough, Legal Analyst and Mr. Nicholas Jahr, Deputy Field Office Director of The Carter Centre.
